Book of Common Prayer
97 Jehovah is King! Let all the earth rejoice! Tell the farthest islands to be glad.
2 Clouds and darkness surround him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. 3 Fire goes forth before him and burns up all his foes. 4 His lightning flashes out across the world. The earth sees and trembles. 5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The heavens declare his perfect righteousness; every nation sees his glory.
7 Let those who worship idols be disgraced—all who brag about their worthless gods—for every god must bow to him! 8-9 Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah have heard of your justice, Lord, and are glad that you reign in majesty over the entire earth and are far greater than these other gods.
10 The Lord loves those who hate evil; he protects the lives of his people and rescues them from the wicked. 11 Light is sown for the godly and joy for the good. 12 May all who are godly be happy in the Lord and crown him,[a] our holy God.
99 Jehovah is King! Let the nations tremble! He is enthroned between the Guardian Angels. Let the whole earth shake.
2 Jehovah sits in majesty in Zion, supreme above all rulers of the earth. 3 Let them reverence your great and holy name.
4 This mighty King is determined to give justice. Fairness is the touchstone of everything he does. He gives justice throughout Israel. 5 Exalt the Lord our holy God! Bow low before his feet.
6 When Moses and Aaron and Samuel, his prophet, cried to him for help, he answered them. 7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud, and they followed his instructions. 8 O Jehovah our God! You answered them and forgave their sins, yet punished them when they went wrong.
9 Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy mountain in Jerusalem, for he is holy.
115 Glorify your name, not ours, O Lord! Cause everyone to praise your loving-kindness and your truth. 2 Why let the nations say, “Their God is dead!”[a]
3 For he is in the heavens and does as he wishes. 4 Their gods are merely man-made things of silver and of gold. 5 They can’t talk or see, despite their eyes and mouths! 6 Nor can they hear, nor smell, 7 nor use their hands or feet, nor speak! 8 And those who make and worship them are just as foolish as their idols are.
9 O Israel, trust the Lord! He is your helper. He is your shield. 10 O priests of Aaron, trust the Lord! He is your helper; he is your shield. 11 All of you, his people, trust in him. He is your helper; he is your shield.
12 Jehovah is constantly thinking about us, and he will surely bless us. He will bless the people of Israel and the priests of Aaron, 13 and all, both great and small, who reverence him.
14 May the Lord richly bless both you and your children. 15 Yes, Jehovah who made heaven and earth will personally bless you! 16 The heavens belong to the Lord, but he has given the earth to all mankind.
17 The dead cannot sing praises to Jehovah here on earth,[b] 18 but we can! We praise him forever! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
7 As for me, I look to the Lord for his help; I wait for God to save me; he will hear me. 8 Do not rejoice against me, O my enemy, for though I fall, I will rise again! When I sit in darkness, the Lord himself will be my Light. 9 I will be patient while the Lord punishes me, for I have sinned against him; then he will defend me from my enemies and punish them for all the evil they have done to me. God will bring me out of my darkness into the light, and I will see his goodness. 10 Then my enemy will see that God is for me and be ashamed for taunting, “Where is that God of yours?” Now with my own eyes I see them trampled down like mud in the street.
11 Your cities, people of God, will be rebuilt, much larger and more prosperous than before. 12 Citizens of many lands will come and honor you—from Assyria to Egypt, and from Egypt to the Euphrates, from sea to sea and from distant hills and mountains.
13 But first comes terrible destruction to Israel[a] for the great wickedness of her people. 14 O Lord, come and rule your people; lead your flock; make them live in peace and prosperity; let them enjoy the fertile pastures of Bashan and Gilead as they did long ago.
15 “Yes,” replies the Lord, “I will do mighty miracles for you, like those when I brought you out of slavery in Egypt.
3 Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock daily prayer meeting. 2 As they approached the Temple, they saw a man lame from birth carried along the street and laid beside the Temple gate—the one called The Beautiful Gate—as was his custom every day. 3 As Peter and John were passing by, he asked them for some money.
4 They looked at him intently, and then Peter said, “Look here!”
5 The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting a gift.
6 But Peter said, “We don’t have any money for you! But I’ll give you something else! I command you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!”
7-8 Then Peter took the lame man by the hand and pulled him to his feet. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankle bones were healed and strengthened so that he came up with a leap, stood there a moment and began walking! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.
9 When the people inside saw him walking and heard him praising God, 10 and realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at The Beautiful Gate, they were inexpressibly surprised!
15 “I am the true Vine, and my Father is the Gardener. 2 He lops off every branch that doesn’t produce. And he prunes those branches that bear fruit for even larger crops. 3 He has already tended you by pruning you back for greater strength and usefulness by means of the commands I gave you. 4 Take care to live in me, and let me live in you. For a branch can’t produce fruit when severed from the vine. Nor can you be fruitful apart from me.
5 “Yes, I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in me and I in him shall produce a large crop of fruit. For apart from me you can’t do a thing. 6 If anyone separates from me, he is thrown away like a useless branch, withers, and is gathered into a pile with all the others and burned. 7 But if you stay in me and obey my commands, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! 8 My true disciples produce bountiful harvests. This brings great glory to my Father.
9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Live within my love. 10 When you obey me you are living in my love, just as I obey my Father and live in his love. 11 I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your cup of joy will overflow!
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.